USA: GOVERNMENT OFFICES SHUTDOWN: DEADLOCK

(18 Dec 1995) English/Nat Thousands of frustrated U-S federal workers have left their offices as a budget impasse continues to force a partial government shutdown. With President Clinton and Congress still deadlocked over the U-S budget, more than two-hundred thousand government workers were sent home in Washington and around the nation. As angry workers were leaving their offices, President Clinton was blocking spending measures he says would hurt Americans. In a continuing war of words, Congressional leaders say the president is using the budget battle for political gain. Once again the President is saying "no" to a government spending bill. A solemn president Clinton used his pen to halt the measure, blaming Republicans for the ongoing federal work stoppage. SOUNDBITE: "It is wrong for the Congress to shut the government down just to make a political point the week before Christmas. It is unfair to the American people and unfair to the public employees. This is a season of peace, and it should be a season of cooperation, not rancor or threats." SUPER CAPTION: President Bill Clinton And again, it was the President's turn to accuse Republicans of using the budget battle to force through harmful cuts. SOUNDBITE: "I realize to a lot of Americans this may sound like just haggling or numbers or whatever. But there are people behind these numbers. In this budget...in this budget there are native American children who won't get health-care. In this budget there are serious, serious erosions in environmental protection. There are human interests here. We have to be careful as we do this." SUPER CAPTION: President Bill Clinton. There wasn't much sympathy on Capitol Hill where Republican leaders threw their own accusations back at the President. SOUNDBITE: "But again it's the same old deception. Scare the American people, scare the children, scare the senior citizens, scare the veterans. Tell everybody the sky is falling." SUPER CAPTION: Bob Dole, Senate Majority Leader. Republicans also said the President had backed out of a budget deal. SOUNDBITE: "The president, far from helping us get to a balanced budget and keeping his world to the American people, is moving in the opposite direction." SUPER CAPTION: Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House. That direction, say Republicans, is keeping federal workers off the job. Hundreds left their offices today in Washington. Thousands more nationwide will also be out of work, all during the Christmas holiday season. Federal workers facing a second shutdown in as many months say they're the real victims in the budget blame game. SOUNDBITE: "Workers are being used for a political game. You know, it's very easy to say 'keep the government going, let's honestly talk about the budget.' But they don't seem to come to that for the political pressures that are on the sides. So, it's unfortunate that the thinking is that way." SUPER CAPTION: Government worker -- vox pop SOUNDBITE: "I was just so certain that they would not do this to us again, because of the way it would look, make them look. But now it appears they don't care." SUPER CAPTION: Government worker -- vox pop Tourists from around the world also felt left out in the cold, with many official monuments closed by the shutdown. SOUNDBITE: "No we didn't know that before we came, so we just hear that this morning, it's too bad. We just came all the way along to, D.C., we want to see the White House. But, too bad. It's a shame. SUPER CAPTION: Chinese Tourist -- vox pop Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...